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With less than two weeks before the primary election, Steve Hilton is leading in the polls for governor, and Los Angeles mayoral hopeful Spencer Pratt is making the city’s progressive class sweat.

If the former Fox News commentator and the reality television bad boy move on to November’s general election, they’ll be running as conservatives in a super-blue state and city where most voters loathe President Trump.

The president endorsed Hilton last month, posting on social media that he “is a truly fine man, one who has watched as this once great State has gone to Hell.” On Wednesday, Trump said he wants Pratt to “do well … I heard he’s a big MAGA person,” before claiming that California elections are rigged and that he would have won the state two years ago “if we had Jesus Christ come down and count the votes” because “I do great with Hispanics.”

Trump was right about one thing — the importance of Latino voters. If Hilton and Pratt are to pull off historic upsets, they’ll need this bloc, which has emerged as a mercurial swing vote in local, state and national elections — but only if stirred into action by anger. And if ever there was a year for Latino anger, 2026 is it.

In recent years, Latinos in California have drifted rightward as they tire of Democratic policies, from L.A. City Hall to Sacramento. Rick Caruso captured a majority of the Latino vote in his unsuccessful bid for L.A. mayor four years ago, and there are more Latino Republicans in the state legislature than ever. Some of the most Latino areas in Southern California saw the biggest shifts toward Trump from 2020 to 2024.

Hilton has held town halls in small, Latino-majority cities across a state that’s about 41% Latino. He frequently appears alongside lieutenant governor candidate Gloria Romero, a pioneer in challenging disaffected Latinos to not always vote Democrat.

Pratt has shared AI-generated salsa and merengue songs that hail him as a savior and uses Spanglish when referring to Mayor Karen Bass as “Basura” — trash. He’s starting to roll out endorsements from Latino business groups and held a block party in South L.A. this week for which a Instagram post tried to draw supporters with the promise of a taco truck.

So if the candidates know that Latinos are essential to their long-shot campaigns, why the hell aren’t they running as far and fast from Trump as possible?

Two years ago, Trump — the most anti-Latino president since James Polk — grabbed a larger share of the Latino electorate than any Republican presidential candidate ever had. GOP leaders predicted that Latinos were finally theirs. But Trump annihilated that advantage by launching his deportation deluge. Now, he has turned off even some die-hard supporters by starting a war in Iran, which has further strained an already shaky economy.

Trump annihilated the advantage the GOP had with Latinos by launching his deportation deluge.

(Manuel Balce Ceneta / Associated Press)

A New York Times/Siena poll released this month found that only 20% of Latinos support Trump — the lowest during his two terms. A Pew Research Center survey, meanwhile, found that only 66% of Latinos who voted for Trump now approve of him, compared to 81% of white Trump supporters.

Instead of running away, Hilton and Pratt seem fine with hitching their prospects to this political Titanic.

Hilton sought and received Trump’s endorsement, arguing that it’s better to have a friendly relationship with the White House than the antagonistic path California’s elected leaders have chosen.

But most voters want no part of Hilton’s kumbaya. Proposition 50, a direct rebuke of Trump’s gerrymandering efforts in other states, passed with more than two-thirds of the vote last fall. A CalMatters analysis found that Latino-majority precincts voted in bigger numbers for the ballot initiative than for Kamala Harris two years earlier.

Hilton can promise Latinos his “Califordable” agenda and eat all the tacos he wants. But our economic malaise was caused in large part by Trump, who recently said he thinks about Americans’ financial struggles “not even a little bit.”

For Hilton not to decry such cluelessness is almost as ridiculous as his recent boasts that he — the British son of Hungarian refugees who became a U.S. citizen just five years ago — is the candidate of “legal” immigrants. That’s a callback to the days of Proposition 187, when Republicans obsessed with the state’s changing demographics turned off my generation of Latinos by demonizing our undocumented friends and family. The GOP was finally starting to emerge from the political wilderness with Latinos, but Hilton cozying up to Trump will drag the party back into that weak salsa place.

Pratt has been coyer on his thoughts about Trump, but at least he seems to realize that the president might be a liability. The Republican said his party affiliation doesn’t since the mayor’s race is nonpartisan. He has portrayed himself as focused solely on improving Los Angeles, telling CBS News, “I don’t do national politics. I don’t do tribal politics.”

But for someone who says he wants to make L.A. a world-class city, Pratt seems unconcerned about Trump’s assault on us, including last summer’s unchecked immigration raids and temporary occupation by the Marines and the National Guard. Rather than denounce those moves, Pratt has instead denounced L.A.’s sanctuary city ordinance and vowed to work with ICE and other federal immigration agencies to target bad hombres if he becomes mayor, even though a majority of those rounded up in the raids had no criminal history.

It’s as if Pratt’s understanding of Latino L.A. ends with an Erewhon burrito. He continually platforms supporters who portray L.A. as a multicultural wasteland. And when another mayoral candidate, City Councilmember Nithya Raman, posted Trump’s praise of Pratt on social media, he responded with a snippet of himself making a dismissive face during a debate.

But this is nothing to dismiss. For Pratt and Hilton to win, they need Latinos to believe in them. And why would we believe anyone who hitches their wagon, even a little, to Trump?

When Lawrence Kensinger stepped into the circle for his last throw of the City Section shot put finals on Thursday afternoon in Lake Balboa, he felt a surge of adrenaline like never before.

Energized by spectators and fellow competitors clapping behind him, the Venice High senior gave them reason to cheer with his Herculean heave of 65 feet, 11 inches, breaking a 53-year-old City record and taking over the state lead in the event.

“Number one baby!” Kensinger screamed as he hugged his dad, Cliff. “When you release it, you don’t even feel it coming out of your hand … it’s like air,” he said. “That’s how you know it’s good. It felt amazing!”

After scratching on his first two attempts by stepping over the board, Kensinger played it safe on his third, then let loose on the fourth to shatter the section record of 64-08.75 set by David Gerasimchuck of Narbonne in 1973. That was the second-longest standing City record behind only the boys pole vault which dates back to 1969.

“I got 62 [feet] on my first attempt so even though it didn’t count I felt pretty good,” said Kensinger, who won with a throw of 55 feet at last year’s City finals after a 55-09 effort at prelims. “It did get in my head a little but the third throw I just wanted to get a mark out there. Then on the last one I was told just go out there and rip it.”

Kensinger played football in ninth and 10th grade but quit to focus on the shot put. His goal at last year’s state meet was to qualify for finals. This time, he wants to be on the top step of the podium.

He works with Nick Garcia, the strength and condition coach at Notre Dame High in Sherman Oaks. “I’ve been throwing since my freshman year and go to his clinics and train with him once a week. He gives me my lifting program. I send him videos and he does technical analysis. Having a good coach is vital. I couldn’t have done this without him.”

Venice senior Lawrence Kensinger puts the shot 65-11 in the City finals Thursday at Birmingham High.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

Kensinger bettered the 65-3.5 thrown by Case Jacobson of Mountain View St. Francis at the Arcadia Invitational in April.

“I’ve been eyeing that number … he beat me there,” added Kensinger, whose prior best was 59-08 at the Irvine Invitational earlier this spring.

“I like to say it’s just small steps, but 65 is top tier in the country. I was throwing 60 consistently in practice so I knew I could do it.”

The current national leader is CJ Williams of Frisco Heritage High in Texas with a mark of 72-0.25.

Kensinger wants to go to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where his father played football, but he has yet to sign with the Mustangs.

“I’m just a shot guy right now, but I’d like to do the shot and hammer throw in college,” Kensinger said. “Hammer’s very technical because you do four spins instead of one.”

Was the record-setting throw the highlight of his career?

“So far,” he said. “But I have plenty more to accomplish.”

CITY SECTION BASEBALL PLAYOFFS

WEDNESDAY’S RESULTS

Semifinals

At Cal State Northridge

OPEN DIVISION

#2 El Camino Real 4, #8 Granada Hills 3

#1 Birmingham 4, #4 Carson 1

At Stengel Field

DIVISION I

#10 Taft 2, #3 Venice 0

#13 Verdugo Hills 2, #1 Sylmar 1

FRIDAY’S SCHEDULE

FINALS

At East LA College

DIVISION II

#6 South East vs. #5 LA Roosevelt, 5:30 p.m.

At Fremont

DIVISION III

#9 LA Hamilton vs. #7 Fremont, 2:30 p.m.

SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE

FINALS

At Dodger Stadium

OPEN DIVISION

#2 El Camino Real vs. #1 Birmingham, 1 p.m.

DIVISION I

#10 Taft vs. #1 Verdugo Hills

Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a game-high 30 points to inspire his side to a 122-113 victory against the San Antonio Spurs as the reigning NBA champions levelled the Western Conference final at 1-1.

Gilgeous-Alexander – who has won the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award for a second year in a row – also provided nine assists in their second home game of the best-of-seven series.

Spurs star Victor Wembanyama scored 41 points in the opening game but was limited to 21 in the second match.

“The guys brought it tonight, knowing what it would have meant if we lost this one,” said Gilgeous-Alexander.

“We brought the energy from the jump.”

The game was level at 31 apiece after the first quarter before Thunder moved into an 11-point lead at half-time.

The Spurs did level the match midway through the third and got to within two points of their rivals in the fourth quarter but Thunder pulled away each time on the way to victory.

“We got a W, it’s all you can ask for. Now we got to go on the road against a really good team and go get one,” said Gilgeous-Alexander.

Games three and four will take place in San Antonio on Friday and Sunday.

The New York Knicks lead the Cleveland Cavaliers 1-0 in the Eastern Conference final with game two in New York on Thursday.

Hotel operators avoid a ‘very real threat’ by signing a deal with 25,000 workers as the city hosts the 2026 tournament.

New York City hotel operators and ⁠unions have reached an eight-year labour deal covering about 25,000 workers, averting a strike over wages, workloads and staffing levels that had threatened to disrupt the city ⁠before the FIFA World Cup, said the head of the Hotel Association of New York City.

Vijay Dandapani, the association’s president and chief executive, said on Tuesday that the mood among owners was “overall positive” after weeks of negotiations, though the industry made significant concessions.

“We came ‌a long way from where things were,” Dandapani said.

The United States will cohost the tournament with Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19.

While FIFA, football’s global governing body and tournament organiser, was not involved in the talks, the prospect of an influx of fans raised the stakes.

A union campaign had warned of a possible strike and urged visitors to avoid affected hotels.

The potential walkout was a “very real threat”, Dandapani said, noting recent labour actions in US cities including Los Angeles and ⁠Boston.

Dandapani said a figure of about $200,000 reflected compensation at the end of the agreement, not at the outset.

Hotel owners entered the talks aiming to preserve profitability, arguing New York’s lodging market has not ⁠fully recovered from the pandemic. Occupancy remains below 2019 levels, and inflation-adjusted room rates have yet to catch up, he ⁠said.

He also cited broader pressures, including the US-Israel war on Iran, tariffs and visa issues.

The deal follows the withdrawal of a proposed city measure that operators said would have sharply raised labour costs by limiting room attendants’ workloads and requiring double pay beyond certain ‌thresholds. Owners estimated it could have lifted wage costs by about 40 percent.

The new pact will still add costs, though operators expect tourism demand and major events to ‌support ‌revenue.

Speaking on Match of the Day, Danny Murphy and Joe Hart discuss what Manchester City do now after missing out on the Premier League title, along with strong reports that manager Pep Guardiola will leave the club in the summer.

READ MORE: Title despair & Guardiola going – 24 hours of pain for Man City

Available to UK users only.

Arsenal are crowned champions of the Premier League for the first time in 22 years after Manchester City are held to a 1-1 draw at Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium, a result which secures European football for the home side for the first time in their history.

MATCH REPORT: Bournemouth 1 – 1 Manchester City

Available to UK users only.

Tragic flooding has swept through communities in Douala, Cameroon’s economic capital. On  Monday, May 18, the disastrous incident caused a five-year-old child to drown as heavy torrential rains led to severe flooding in the country’s economic hub. 

The child was swept away in the Banya-Sable area, located in Douala’s 5th district.

“Trapped by the rapidly rising waters, the child was carried off by a strong current. The body was recovered a short time later and taken by the parents to the Ad Lucem hospital, where the death was confirmed,” said Nana Paul Sabin, an eyewitness.

The flooding affected the 5th, 4th, 3rd, and 2nd administrative districts, as well as residential and administrative areas such as Bonapriso and Bonanjo in Douala’s 1st district.

“The floods caused significant disruptions and blockages in traffic, and in certain locations, the water levels rose alarmingly due to drainage issues,” a resident from Douala’s 3rd district stated.

In response, the Douala Urban Council issued a statement urging residents to exercise caution in their daily activities. The council advised individuals in high-risk areas to limit non-essential travel, avoid flood currents, stay clear of unstable structures, and be especially vigilant with children.

“The Douala Urban Council also emphasises the importance of keeping drainage pathways clear and encourages civic responsibility to help preserve lives,” the communiqué read. 

It also noted that technical teams have been deployed to address the aftermath of the heavy rainfall.

“Let us stay alert, united, and responsible,” the statement concluded.

If anyone needs the axiom “Tell me who you’re with, and I’ll tell you who you are” whispered to them every morning as a reminder to do better, it’s Spencer Pratt.

Can someone do that ASAP, por favor?

Instead of holding events around Los Angeles to convince skeptics that his mayoral campaign is for everyone, the former reality television bad boy has bunkered himself inside an echo chamber of sycophants, friendly podcasters and milquetoast media outlets.

Instead of offering an on-ramp to join his pissed-off posse, he calls Mayor Karen Bass “Basura” — trash — and her supporters “Bassholes,” insults that his followers share and like on social media by the thousands.

Instead of enlisting surrogates to push an uplifting vision for L.A.’s future, Pratt elevates those who speak of the city as a West Coast Chernobyl.

He’s running on a message of righteous fury as a survivor of the Palisades fire, in an era when many Angelenos feel pessimistic about what’s next. In recent months, he’s raised funds at a faster pace than Bass and City Councilmember Nithya Raman and delivered a decent debate performance, while holding strong in the polls with two weeks left before the June 2 primary.

Now that Pratt has shown his electoral quest isn’t a farce, it’s time he shows all Angelenos that they can rely on a Republican entertainer with no political experience to head a largely progressive, multicultural metropolis.

Instead, he continues to double down on his doomsday message, exciting the type of people who have been whining that L.A. is a “Lost Cause” since the days of the Watts riots.

They’re the ones depicting Pratt in AI-generated videos as a superhero — Batman, Luke Skywalker and a gladiator, among others — battling Bass, cast as a clown, Darth Vader, the Joker or as herself handing out needles to half-crazed homeless people.

They hound anyone who points out that L.A. is nowhere near as apocalyptic as they make it out to be, when homicides are at their lowest since the 1960s, burglaries are down 30% from last year and unsheltered homelessness has dropped two years in a row. They follow Pratt’s example and call unhoused people with drug problems “zombies” and “bums” while depicting the L.A. of the past as a problem-free playground out of “The Wonderful World of Disney” that derailed once Democrats took over.

Not all of Pratt’s supporters are this obnoxious. But he repeatedly platforms the worst of them and shows no signs of stopping. That nihilism might sell books and gain followers — but it’s no way to prove to Angelenos he’s serious about fixing anything other than his reputation.

Mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt, left, poses with a supporter during a campaign event in Sherman Oaks.

(Etienne Laurent / For The Times)

Anyone who truly loves the city complains about it even on its best days. They realize L.A. can never be perfect, and that’s what makes it so wonderful. When people try to better their part of paradise, everyone benefits.

But Pratt needs to realize that Angelenos don’t want the city to be torn down, as dissatisfied as they may be. Criticizing the status quo is necessary — but waging a campaign of humiliation, a la Donald Trump, isn’t how to heal L.A. It won’t get large swaths of the city on your side, and it can’t spark the true change City Hall so desperately needs.

Instead, we get people like former Times contributor Meghan Daum — who now calls herself the “official Liberal Elite for Pratt” — gushing in the Atlantic about how her man is the “factory-reset option” to Make L.A. Great Again.

Resetting to when, Meghan? The 2000s of the Great Recession? The 1990s of anti-immigrant policies, the Northridge earthquake and the riots? The 1980s and its out-of-control gangs? The white flight of the 1960s? The 1950s of legal segregation and hideous smog?

Or just to the days when the problems that have long racked L.A. didn’t lap up to the denizens of Prattland — until they did?

These are the people who stayed largely silent as Trump unleashed ICE goons across Los Angeles last summer. They said nothing about housing affordability and violent crime in the years when those issues primarily afflicted South L.A. and the Eastside. They didn’t have a fit about homelessness until encampments spread beyond Skid Row.

Pratt’s loudest fans fundamentally loathe modern-day L.A., and that should chill all other Angelenos. These haters would be his primary constituents and populate his brain trust if he does beat Bass — and if he lets them take over, heaven help the City of Angels.

I’m not discounting Pratt’s chances of winning — he’s too savvy a media pro to fully flop. I knew Bass and Raman would misjudge the anger of Angelenos, fail to capitalize on that rage and find themselves on the defensive against Pratt’s populist push. I also figured he would eschew politeness for the demonizing that has tainted past L.A. elections, from Yorty’s mayoral campaigns of the 1960s to the San Fernando Valley secession movement a generation ago to the continued charges of communism thrown at the democratic socialist wing of the City Council.

I don’t blame Pratt for jumping into the race after his life was upended. And I sure don’t underestimate L.A.’s middle-class malaise, long a reactionary force in city politics with a winning track record that spans decades. But I can’t trust the guy and his crew for just now beginning to say they care about reforming L.A., when all he has fought for is his dark idea of the city.

And if you think L.A. needs a complete makeover, then you probably never really loved it in the first place.

On a recent podcast with Adam Carolla — who has long railed against L.A.’s liberal, multicultural ways and is planning to move to Nevada after his children graduate high school — Pratt huffed that he will “be done with trying to live” in the city if he doesn’t become mayor.

“I’ll go find somewhere that my kids will not have to see naked zombies,” he said, in a comment that was cheered on and seconded by his online army.

Do Angelenos really want to entrust their city to someone who might pick up his ball and quit on a place he professes to love, if he doesn’t get his way?

HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL
CITY SECTION PLAYOFFS

MONDAY’S RESULTS
First Round

DIVISION II
#16 Triumph Charter 16, #17 Middle College 6
#20 Cleveland 20, #13 Dorsey 2
#10 North Hollywood 12, #14 USC-MAE 0
#18 Taft 13, #15 Central City Value 0

DIVISION III
#16 Van Nuys 19, #17 Alliance Bloomfield 2
#20 East Valley 14, #13 Community Charter 3
#14 VAAS 18, #19 Angelou 0
#15 Reseda 24, #18 Stella 0

DIVISION IV
#16 Vaughn 44, #17 West Adams 33
#20 Hawkins 28, #13 LAAAE 7
#14 Franklin 19, #19 Mendez 7
#18 Diego Rivera 24, #15 Discovery 8

WEDNESDAY’S SCHEDULE
(Games at 3 p.m. unless noted)
First Round

DIVISION I
#16 Sherman Oaks CES at #1 Venice
#9 San Fernando at #8 Bravo
#12 Lincoln at #5 Chavez
#13 Animo Venice at #4 Chatsworth
#14 LA University at #3 Port of LA
#11 Harbor Teacher at #6 Eagle Rock
#10 Verdugo Hills at #7 Garfield
#15 LA Hamilton at #2 Marquez

Second Round

DIVISION II
#16 Triumph Charter at #1 LA Marshall
#9 Northridge Academy at #8 Rancho Dominguez
#12 Fremont at #5 Symar
#20 Cleveland at #4 Narbonne
#19 North Hollywood at #3 Roosevelt
#11 Orthopaedic at #5 Arleta
#10 Sun Valley Poly at #7 South Gate
#18 Taft at #2 LA Wilson

DIVISION III
#16 Van Nuys at #1 Bell
#9 Palisades at #8 Hollywood
#12 Lakeview Charter at #5 South East
#20 East Valley at #4 Maywood Academy
#14 VAAS at #3 Maywood CES
#11 Westchester at #6 Torres
#10 Animo Robinson at #7 LACES
#15 Reseda at #2 Sun Valley Magnet

DIVISION IV
#16 Vaughn at #1 Jefferson
#9 Smidt Tech at #8 Alliance Levine
#12 Downtown Magnets at #5 University Prep Value
#20 Hawkins at #4 Huntington Park
#14 Franklin at #3 Santee
#11 Bernstein at #6 Camino Nuevo
#10 Rise Kohyang at #7 CALS Early College
#18 Diego Rivera at #2 LA Jordan

THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE
(Games at 3 p.m. unless noted)
Quarterfinals

OPEN DIVISION
#8 Granada Hills Kennedy at #1 Granada Hills
#5 El Camino Real at #4 San Pedro
#6 Wilmington Banning at #3 Birmingham
#7 Legacy at #2 Carson

Note: Division I-IV quarterfinals May 22 at higher seeds; Semifinals all divisions May 27 at higher seeds; Finals all divisions May 29-30 at TBD.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is understood to be stepping down at end of season after 17 years at EPL club.

Pep Guardiola will leave ⁠Manchester City ⁠after a decade in charge, according to widespread reports, bringing to ⁠a close one of the most successful spells in Premier League history.

Former Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca, who lead the Blues to the FIFA Club World Cup last summer, is expected to replace him.

The 55-year-old Guardiola will reportedly announce his departure shortly after City’s final ‌game of the season against Aston Villa at the Etihad Stadium, capping a campaign that included winning both the League Cup and the FA Cup trophies.

Saturday’s FA Cup victory over ⁠Chelsea secured Guardiola his ⁠20th trophy with the club.

Maresca, who left Chelsea four months ago, has been rumoured for months to ⁠be the top contender for the Spaniard’s job. ⁠Guardiola’s contract at City ⁠is set to expire in June 2027.

Guardiola shrugged off questions about his future after the FA Cup ‌final. When asked about the rumours by TNT Sports, Guardiola replied “What rumours?” ‌and ‌then ended the interview, saying “Have a lovely evening.”

City have made no comment on the speculation.

However, the club have arranged a parade through Manchester on Monday to celebrate their League Cup and FA Cup triumphs this season, which could act as a farewell to Guardiola.

City must win their final two games of the season, starting at Bournemouth on Tuesday, and hope Arsenal drop points at Crystal Palace on Sunday if they are to win the Premier League this season.

Manchester City are preparing for Pep Guardiola’s exit after Sunday’s Premier League match against Aston Villa.

Sources have told BBC Sport that the managerial great is expected to leave Etihad Stadium at the end of the season.

City maintain Guardiola has a contract for next season and are hopeful he will remain as manager.

However, work towards his anticipated exit is under way at the club, with members of staff of the understanding he will leave.

It is understood members of the squad are also anticipating his departure after the final game of the season againt Villa, while the club have turned their attentions towards how best to mark the tenure of their iconic boss.

Former Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca, who worked under Guardiola at City, is the front-runner to replace the 55-year-old.

Guardiola has led City to 17 major trophies – and 20 in all – including six Premier League titles, the Champions League, three FA Cups and five EFL Cups during his 10 years at City.

The club’s greatest boss is widely regarded as one of the best managers of all time, and could yet still cap his stellar spell at Etihad Stadium with a seventh Premier League title, having already won the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup this season.

Speculation about the manager’s future has been rife for months, with the question about his tenure at Manchester City often coming up in news conferences.

He was asked on Friday whether the following day’s trip to Wembley for the FA Cup final would be his last visit there. “No way,” he said, reminding reporters he had “one more year” on his contract.

And in a interview with BBC Sport before Saturday’s FA Cup final, when asked if he will still be at the club next season, he replied: “Yeah.”

The ex-Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss added: “I am here, I have a contract.”

VIENNA — Vienna’s famed coffeehouses have embraced the Eurovision Song Contest. They have also been touched by tensions over Israel’s inclusion in the sequin-drenched pop music competition.

When officials announced a list of “Eurofan Cafes” — Vienna coffee shops offering food and music from competing countries — Israel was initially left out.

MQ Kantine, a modern café in the city’s arty museums quarter, offered to step in. Now it has falafel, bagels with lox and kosher wine on the menu, a string of small Israeli flags hanging from the ceiling — and a police officer outside the door.

Security is tight across Vienna during the international music contest, whose “United by Music” slogan rings sightly hollow this year. Five countries are boycotting because Israel is taking part. Pro-Palestinian activists are planning a protest concert — one of several Eurovision alternatives across Europe — and an anti-Israel march before Saturday’s grand final.

At MQ Kantine, volunteers take turns to monitor for potential trouble. But so far the mood has been supportive, said Daniel Kapp, a PR consultant and pro-Israel campaigner.

“It’s beautiful,” he said, as people drank coffee and beer on the café terrace in the spring sunshine, though he noted that the police officer on duty showed that all is “not entirely normal.”

“My feeling is that Austria to a certain degree has learned from its history,” Kapp said, referring to the deadly antisemitism under the Nazis before and during World War II. “Which is why the support for Israel is a lot more normal than it is in other countries.”

Israel has competed in Eurovision for more than 50 years, and won four times. But its participation has been contested since it launched a war in Gaza after 1,200 people were killed in a Hamas-led cross-border attack on Oct. 7, 2023. More than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war began, according to the territory’s Health Ministry, which operates under the Hamas-run government and whose detailed records are viewed as generally reliable by the international community.

Israel’s government has repeatedly defended its campaign as a response to the Oct. 7 attack. But a number of experts, including those commissioned by a United Nations body, have said that Israel’s offensive in Gaza amounts to genocide. Israel, home to many Holocaust survivors and their relatives, has vigorously denied the claim.

The latest Israel-Hezbollah war in Lebanon and the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran have driven tensions still higher.

The 2024 Eurovision contest in Malmo, Sweden, and last year’s event in Basel, Switzerland, saw pro-Palestinian protests that called for Israel to be expelled. Five countries — Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Spain — pulled out of the 2026 contest after organizers allowed Israel to compete.

Partying amid tight security

The tensions have produced a Eurovision of two halves. An upbeat party atmosphere prevails inside the Wiener Stadthalle arena and in the separate Eurovision Village fan zone. But getting in means passing through a ring of steel, with searches, scanners and a ban on all bags inside the arena. Armed police are a very visible presence on the streets.

Awareness of risk from terror plots is high in the city after a 21-year-old Austrian man accused of pledging allegiance to the Islamic State group pleaded guilty to plotting to attack a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna in 2024.

Israeli singer Noam Bettan told Israeli media that, like last year’s Israeli competitor Yuval Raphael, he practiced performing while being booed. There were scattered shouts amid the cheers when he performed in the first Eurovision semifinal on Tuesday. He secured a spot in Saturday’s final by being one of the top 10 finishers in voting by viewers and national juries.

Organizers said four people were removed from the 10,000-strong audience for disruptive behavior.

Austrian Eurovision fan Ivo Herzl, who attended the semifinal, said “the vibe was incredibly positive.” He is showing support for Israel by making and selling Mazel Lov T-shirts — a play on “mazel tov,” a Hebrew and Yiddish phrase of congratulations.

“Vienna has always been a city of tolerance,” Herzl said. “It’s the city of music and we’ll always do everything possible for everyone to enjoy a musical event.”

Some Israeli fans said they were reassured by the tight security. Oz Yona, attending his first Eurovision, said he had experienced “no hate” and felt Austria took antisemitism seriously.

He came with friends to cheer for Israel, though he was not optimistic about Bettan’s chances — for musical rather than political reasons.

“I don’t think he will win,” Yona said. “Finland is better this year. Greece is better this year. We have a good song, but not a winning song.”

Birgitta Peterson and Kristina Nilsson, who wear matching pink bomber jackets and call themselves the Swedish Ladies, love to explore new cities and meet up each year with their “Eurovision family” of fellow fans. They plan to wave Israeli flags at Saturday’s final, after Swedish contestant Felicia said earlier this year that she didn’t think Israel should be in the contest.

They say tensions over Israel have divided a fan community long known for its friendliness and embrace of diversity.

“The wounds are very deep at the moment,” Nilsson said.

“This event should really be about ‘united by music’ and happiness,” she added. “That’s what Eurovision is all about.”

Lawless writes for the Associated Press.

Angelina Anderson made one save for her second shutout and became the first goalkeeper to hold Portland scoreless this season as visiting Angel City played the Thorns to a 0-0 draw on Sunday.

Mackenzie Arnold made three saves for Portland (6-2-2) in her fourth shutout of the year. Angel City (3-4-1) snapped a four-game skid.

Late in second-half stoppage time, Thorns midfielder Jessie Fleming sent a shot off the post.

Portland had two players leave the game with injuries: Isabella Obaze in the 67th minute and M.A. Vignola in the 74th.

The leading scorers for each team missed the game: Portland’s Olivia Moultrie (calf) and Angel City’s Sveindis Jonsdottir (foot).

MEXICO CITY — The highway from the Guadalajara city airport to downtown is newly paved and the city’s famous roundabout has gotten a $4-million facelift. The city is abuzz with renovation projects as Guadalajara prepares to host four World Cup soccer matches in June.

But there’s one thing the 3 million fans expected to flock to the city won’t see — the sites where hundreds of bodies have been found in clandestine graves dug by Mexico’s notorious New Generation Jalisco Cartel. Scores were discovered on the main route leading to Akron Stadium, where the games will be played.

One set of remains was that of a 17-year-old high school student who had gone out to sell his motorcycle to help his unemployed uncle. He disappeared. When his uncle began searching, he disappeared as well. At another site, the bones of a 34-year-old cellphone repairman were found. He was a father of two who’d simply ventured out to shop for used tennis shoes.

According to statistics compiled by the state of Jalisco, between 2018 and March of this year, 1,907 bodies were found in Guadalajara and surrounding cities.

The arrival of the World Cup is an opportunity for Mexico’s second-largest city to shine on the international stage, and the Jalisco state government launched an upbeat campaign highlighting the municipality where games will be played: “Zapopan, the heart of soccer,” the slogan goes.

Families searching for their loved ones sarcastically responded with, “Zapopan, the heart of clandestine graves.”

An aerial view of La Minerva roundabout fountain in Guadalajara, Mexico, taken on June 27, 2025.

(Ulises Ruiz / AFP via Getty Images)

Since January of 2025 alone, search groups and authorities have discovered 58 graves with 226 sets of remains inside city limits. Five graves were located within three miles of Akron Stadium.

Three graves with 15 bodies were found within a mile of the city’s iconic La Minerva roundabout, a huge traffic circle featuring fountains, greenery and a towering statue of the Roman goddess Minerva. Others were found not far from Chapultepec Street, a popular tourist destination.

Liliana Meza, mother of Carlos Maximiliano Romero Meza, who disappeared on Oct. 22, 2020, poses with a search card at the Glorieta de las Personas Desaparecidas in Guadalajara, Mexico, on Friday, May 15, 2026. Founders of the Luz de Esperanza Desaparecidos Jalisco collective created the cards, inspired by World Cup soccer stickers, to draw attention to missing persons cases ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Jalisco.

(Alejandra Leyva/For The Times)

Though tourists and tourist sites are rarely touched by cartel violence in Mexico, critics say the graves are an embarrassment for state and city administrators.

Amid all the cleanup, little official attention has gone to the growing number of clandestine graves that groups of persistent, family-funded search teams have found in recent months.

Large machinery and backhoes are working nonstop across the city ahead of the games, said Jaime Aguilar, a spokesperson for the group Warrior Searchers of Jalisco, which finds an average of two graves a month. “But when we ask for a backhoe to help in our searches, there is never one available,” he said.

Over the years, secret graves have been discovered in rural areas, at industrial sites, alongside roads, inside buildings and even in the heart of Guadalajara. The Jalisco state government tracks grave discoveries, but an analysis by The Times and Puente News Collaborative shows many have been concentrated in the Guadalajara area.

Flyers with photographs and identifying information about missing persons, posted by search collectives, have become a common sight along the main streets of the city’s historic center, as seen here on Friday, May 15, 2026.

(Alejandra Leyva/For The Times)

Earlier this year, authorities found a blood-soaked safe house a mile from Akron Stadium where cartel enemies were tortured. One person was found buried there. Within a 10-mile radius, nearly 100 sets of remains were found in 500 trash bags buried in shallow graves.

The graves, and the potential discovery of more, worried Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. She feared that FIFA, the international soccer association in charge of the games, might move the Mexico games to the United States or Canada, the other countries co-hosting the games, because of the violence, said one Mexican official familiar with planning for the tournament.

That fear burst into the open in February, when Mexican special forces killed Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes, leader of the hyper-violent New Generation Jalisco Cartel. Law enforcement officials said Guadalajara is a stronghold for the criminal group.

Cartel members responded to El Mencho’s death by setting fire to cars and buses and blocking major exits from Guadalajara. The city was briefly paralyzed. Gunmen burned 80 convenience stores and a host of pharmacies, flexing their power in the city.

In the days after the violence, FIFA officials met with the Mexican government to review security for the Guadalajara matches. Sheinbaum laid out a plan to send 100,000 security personnel, including Army soldiers and police officers, to stadiums in Guadalajara and the country’s two other host cities, Mexico City and Monterrey. FIFA determined it would not change the World Cup venues.

U.S. law enforcement has been advising Mexico on counter-terrorism methods, including training in repelling drone bombs, a weapon increasingly used by cartels to terrorize communities, attack adversaries and target military convoys. U.S. special forces have been training Mexican military teams to repel attacks at stadiums.

Fliers with photographs and identifying information about missing persons are displayed throughout Guadalajara’s historic center alongside traditional city scenes and World Cup-related imagery.

(Alejandra Leyva / For The Times)

The Mexican government had already witnessed the Jalisco cartel’s proclivity for brazen killing. In December, some four miles from Akron Stadium, gunmen fired more than 3,000 bullets in broad daylight into the car of a director of a produce distribution center. The gun battle between his security guards and the cartel took place just a few blocks from a police station. It took officers nearly a half hour to arrive at the scene.

In recent years, Jalisco state has become a cartel killing ground, security experts say. Some graves discovered in the Guadalajara area contained a single body, some more than 40. A few had 95 or more.

In 2023, the remains of nine teenagers, chopped up and stuffed in trash bags, were found in a canyon in Zapopan. They had worked for a Jalisco cartel call center where telemarketers scammed Americans of millions of dollars in a time-share scheme. The teenagers are believed to have upset their employer.

Traffickers recruit young people, including minors, to serve as foot soldiers in their bloody quest to control drug-trafficking routes across Mexico. Some of those teenagers were lured by ads promising good-paying jobs, only to discover they were being funneled to a Jalisco cartel training camp an hour outside Guadalajara. There, as a test, Mexican security officials said, recruits were forced to kill fellow recruits.

Plaza Liberacion, the city’s main public square, with flyers with photographs and identifying information about missing persons, on Friday.

(Alejandra Leyva/For The Times)

The cartel has recruited more than 45,000 minors across Mexico in recent years, said one Jalisco state representative.

While some of Guadalajara’s upscale neighborhoods have escaped the violence, families across the metropolitan area have seen hundreds of children disappear, some to reappear, dead, on cartel battlefields across Jalisco and in the states of Sinaloa and Michoacán, searchers said.

The Jalisco state government lists more than 16,000 reports of missing people — the most of any Mexican state. Nationwide more than 130,000 people are reported missing.

Despite the preparations and the buzz among the nation’s vast population of soccer fans, World Cup fever has not caught on among families of the disappeared and the search teams that each week fan out across Guadalajara, looking for new graves.

Natalia Leticia García’s son disappeared in 2017. She began her own search and launched a group to help find other victims. Eight years later, García’s group has located 26 graves. Some finds have been bags full of severed heads, others holding just arms. It is a cartel tactic, she said, to make it harder to piece together remains.

“It is cruel,” García said. Her son, César Ulises Quintero García, remains missing.

Fisher is a special correspondent. This article was co-published with Puente News Collaborative, a bilingual nonprofit newsroom that covers stories from Mexico and the U.S.-Mexico border.

Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman, who serves the 4th District, makes her way across an empty, unnamed backlot, presenting her case to be the city’s next mayor.

“Studio lots like this one used to be filled with people, costumers, electricians, set medics, caterers, thousands of Angelenos making a living,” she says in the video posted on social media. “Now these lots are quiet. Since 2018, shooting days in the city have fallen by half.”

After telling voters this issue is “personal” (her husband is a TV writer and producer), criticizing Mayor Karen Bass’ leadership on the matter and outlining her own plans, Raman proclaims, “I’m running for mayor to make sure Los Angeles stays the film and TV capital of the world.”

Placing the concerns of the entertainment industry at the center of the city’s mayoral race would have been unthinkable even in the last election cycle. But the production crisis, which has rocked Hollywood and pummeled its workforce, has reached a critical juncture. The state of L.A.’s signature industry is now a political flashpoint alongside affordability, crime and homelessness in the upcoming election.

A person films an interaction between mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt and another person on his cellphone during a “Community Meet and Greet” event out of a house for sale on Long Ridge Avenue in a residential neighborhood of Sherman Oaks on Saturday.

(Etienne Laurent/For The Times)

In campaign ads, interviews and the recent televised debate, the top three contenders: incumbent Mayor Bass, former reality TV villain Spencer Pratt and Raman, have made the ongoing production slump a pivotal topic, highlighting their plans to revitalize the industry while deploying the issue to undercut one another.

For decades, elected officials have not had to focus on the film and TV business, let alone turn it into a campaign issue. It was simply a given that local production would continue to play a dominant role in the city’s economy as it has for more than a century.

But the cumulative effects of consolidation, runaway production to tax-friendly states and countries and the end of the streaming boom has caused Los Angeles to lose billions in economic activity, shed some 57,000 jobs over the last four years and led to the closing of more than 80 film and television production service businesses across the city since 2022.

“For us, ‘save Hollywood’ is more than a slogan and more than headline. It is what needs to be done,” said Pamala Buzick Kim, one of the co-founders of Stay in LA, a grassroots campaign aimed at increasing film and television production in Los Angeles.

To be sure, the biggest driver of where studios and producers film are state and federal tax credits, over which the city has no control.

But Buzick Kim and others argue that “there is lots the mayor can do, hand-in-hand with the City Council.”

Mayor Karen Bass, center, walks with Avance Democratic Club President Nilza Serrano, to the right of Bass, during Avance’s politics and tacos event at Ernest E. Debs Regional Park in Los Angeles on Saturday.

(Christina House/Los Angeles Times)

For starters, say filmmakers and advocates, much can be done to tackle the city’s sclerotic bureaucracy, onerous regulations and a slow and costly permitting process that has pushed filmmakers to flee to friendlier and cheaper locales.

While steps have been put in place recently, including a pilot program offering reduced-cost filming permits for shoots that demonstrate a “low impact” to the surrounding community, many complain such steps have come too little and too late.

Scott Niner, president and owner of Dangling Carrot Creative, checks on woodwork being produced at his shop in North Hollywood.

(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)

“The industry is in collapse and people have been talking about fixing things for years, but all we get are incremental little changes,” said Ed Lippman, a location manager of 34 years who lives in Sherman Oaks and has worked on such shows as “ER” and “The X-Files” and movies including “Galaxy Quest.” “And if the city is not being business-friendly, the business will go elsewhere.”

Compounding the problem, the Los Angeles area has more than 100 jurisdictions, many of which have their own set of rules and regulations regarding filming.

“There needs to be universal standards,” said Travis Beck, a location manager for commercials, small films and music videos. “Burbank is different from Glendale, which is different from Pasadena.”

The recent kerfuffle over filming “Baywatch,” the lifeguard reboot at Venice Beach, underscored both the efforts to bring production back to L.A. — enticed by a $21-million tax credit — and the complex, baffling red tape required to film here.

When shooting began in March, the production encountered a number of hiccups, including that it needed nearly double the parking space it had received a permit for, which was not part of the original approvals.

An anonymous crew member claimed on Facebook that government restrictions had forced production to relocate from Venice Beach. Production staff denied they had relocated. However, the incident prompted a backlash, becoming a rallying cry over L.A.’s burdensome filming bureaucracy.

The “Baywatch” team quickly met with city and county officials and resolved the issue, securing an agreement for a 20% parking discount from the city, and the mayoral candidates used it as an opportunity to score political points.

Pratt slammed the city’s permitting problems.

“LA turned its back on Hollywood — now the golden goose needs CPR,” he wrote on his Substack.

Bass highlighted her administration’s leadership on the matter.

“The City of Los Angeles will always clear bureaucratic barriers, making it easier and more affordable to film in the entertainment capital of the world,” she wrote on X last month.

On April 21, the mayor unveiled programs to offer productions 20% discounts on city-owned parking lots and other equipment, reduced filming fees at places like the Griffith Observatory and reopened the Central Library for filming. Last August, she appointed Steve Kang, president of the Los Angeles Board of Public Works, as the city’s film liaison.

Raman has pledged her support for expanding the state’s $750-million tax incentive program, streamlining permitting and lowering fees and eliminating those for small productions. She has also said she will establish a dedicated city film office with a liaison who understands production.

Councilmember and mayoral candidate Nithya Raman speaks to a crowd at the “Families for Nithya” event at Vineyard Recreation Center in Los Angeles on Saturday.

(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)

“Los Angeles is losing Hollywood,” Raman said in a statement. “Not because productions want to leave, but because we’ve made it too hard for them to stay.”

On his Substack and various podcast interviews, Pratt has promised to slash location fees in half, speed up permit approvals, reduce on-set city staff for the majority of productions and waive all fees for shoots with budgets under $2 million.

All three candidates have attacked one another over their approach to Hollywood.

Pratt and Raman have said Bass moved too slowly to address spiraling production and retain film jobs, saying she enacted measures only recently as the mayoral race was heating up.

Speaking on the Monks & Merrill podcast, Pratt criticized Bass’ moves to cut costs to film at the Griffith Observatory, saying, “Who needs that shot right now with the homeless poop all around it?”

The incumbent mayor has defended her administration’s record with the entertainment industry.

Bass and Pratt have taken Raman to task, calling her out for what they say is her lack of advocacy during her time on the City Council.

“She feels very strongly about it. But never offered one motion on the industry, and when motions came up on the industry she either recused herself, or got up and walked out,” said Bass during a debate this month.

Citing a potential conflict of interest over her husband’s work in television, Raman refrained from voting on several motions related to Hollywood.

Many working in the industry would like to see full-throttled support coming from the mayor’s office that will get results. They note how New York City has successfully promoted itself as a leading film destination over the years. (Kang, the city’s chief film liaison, said the city is working on a similar marketing campaign to promote filming that will launch by early fall.)

“For all the talk about, ‘We need to support and bring back filming,’ if they just did basics like lowering the fees and simplifying the process … that would actually help people and get things produced,” said Chris Fuentes, 66, who worked for 30 years as a location manager until he retired last year.

“We’ve heard a lot of great things, but not all things are possible in the mayor’s remit,” said Buzick Kim, noting that tax incentives are a state and federal issue.

Still, she said, “the mayor must understand that Hollywood needs to be made a priority and to find and create inspired thinking to make things easier and cheaper.”

Kang agrees, but says there are limits to what the mayor can achieve.

“We definitely can do a lot to really open up the entertainment industry, but at the same time, we recognize the larger impact needs to come from Sacramento and Washington, D.C., because L.A. just does not have the resources to compete with other jurisdictions in providing millions of dollars in tax incentives,” he said.

For most working in the industry, they just want city leadership that will execute on more than just talking points.

“This is the birthplace of cinema,” Beck said. “It shouldn’t be so hard to film here.”

HIGH SCHOOL BOYS VOLLEYBALL

CITY SECTION FINALS

FRIDAY

At Birmingham

DIVISION I

#1 Taft d. #3 Cleveland, 25-23, 25-14, 25-21

DIVISION IV

#7 Maywood CES d. #4 Math & Science College Prep, 25-17, 25-17, 25-23

At Venice

DIVISION II

#4 Marquez d. #6 Narbonne, 23-25, 25-19, 29-27, 25-16

DIVISION III

#13 Birmingham d. #2 Legacy, 25-20, 17-25, 31-33, 25-21, 15-10

SATURDAY

At Birmingham

OPEN DIVISION

#3 Chatsworth d. #1 Granada Hills, 24-26, 25-21, 25-14, 25-18

DIVISION V

314 Franklin d. #13 Rancho Dominguez, 25-18, 25-19, 25-16

SOUTHERN SECTION FINALS

THURSDAY

At Home Sites

DIVISION 9

Vasquez d. Tarbut V’ Torah, 25-19, 22-25, 25-21, 19-25, 15-10

FRIDAY

At Cerritos College

DIVISION 1

#1 Mira Costa d. #3 Loyola, 25-21, 25-22, 25-22

DIVISION 4

Sunny Hills d. Royal, 24-26, 25-22, 27-25, 25-23

At Home Sites

DIVISION 5

Bishop Diego d. St. Anthony, 25-19, 25-19, 23-25, 25-23

DIVISION 8

Temescal Canyon d. West Valley, 24-26, 25-16, 25-19, 25-23

SATURDAY

At Cerritos College

DIVISION 2

Orange Lutheran d. Edison, 3-1

DIVISION 3

Windward d. St, John Bosco, 24-26, 25–21, 25-22, 25-20

DIVISION 6

Culver City d. Garden Grove, 27-25, 25-20, 19-25, 21-25, 15-9

It’s now official. You can call Chatsworth a 12-time City Section volleyball champion after the Chancellors won the Open Division championship on Saturday night, knocking off West Valley League rival Granada Hills 24-26, 25-21, 25-14, 25-18.

Noa Beauregard led Chatsworth with 14 kills and Grant Chang had 13.

Coach Sina Aghassy got his team to settle down and dominate the Highlanders after their first-set defeat. The two teams had split their league matches.

Both schools will move on to the state tournament next week, with pairings announced on Sunday.

Baseball

Sylmar 4, Chatsworth 3: The No. 1-seeded Spartans survived a three-run seventh inning by Chatsworth to advance to the City Section Division I semifinals against Verdugo Hills on Wednesday at Stengel Field. Tim Sepulveda had two hits.

Verdugo Hills 8, Sun Valley Poly 2: Jered Smith hit a grand slam in the sixth inning to help the Dons reach the City Division I semifinals.

Taft 11, Cleveland 0: The Toreadors advanced to the Division I semifinal behind Sebastian Gamez, who threw the shutout. Nate Swinson had two hits and two RBIs.

Venice 7, Palisades 6: The Gondoliers earned a match against Taft in the Division I semifinals. Darius Basco’s sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh won it. Miguel Medina threw three scoreless innings of relief.

Softball

La Habra 6, Murrieta Mesa 4: Rylee Gruener hit a grand slam during a five-run inning to enable La Habra to eliminate top-seeded Murrieta Mesa in the Division I playoffs. Alyssa Hernandez added three hits.

Orange Lutheran 17, Chino Hills 14: In a wild Division 1 playoff game, Sierra Nichols and Madelyn Armendariz each had four hits for Orange Lutheran, with Armendariz getting three doubles. Nichols, Rylee Silva and Eliza Johnson hit home runs. Brett Lambrecht had five RBIs for Chino Hills.

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 8, Oaks Christian 5: The Mission League champions advanced behind freshman pitcher Ainsley Jenkins, who came in and provided three innings of three-hit relief pitching. Nadia Ledon, Keira Luderer and Ellayne Tellez-Perez hit home runs.

Norco 8, Riverside Poly 2: The No. 2-seeded Cougars were led by Savannah Gonzalez, who had three hits, including a home run. Coral Williams struck out 13. Camryn May and Sadie Burroughs also had three hits.

Lake Balboa resident Jose Meraz is looking for a mayor who will turn L.A. around, cleaning up streets that he says are “filled with garbage.”

Schoolteacher Tracey Schroeder, a Republican candidate for state Assembly, is unhappy about crime, open-air drug use and the slow rebuilding effort in the wake of the Palisades fire, which destroyed thousands of homes.

Greg Whitley, a resident of Reseda, said he’s frustrated with homelessness and the influx of what he called “criminal illegal aliens.”

“I live with the Spanish community. Great people,” he said. “But these illegals that come here for criminal reasons, they’re making them look bad, and they don’t like it.”

All three showed up outside a five-bedroom home in Sherman Oaks on Saturday, looking to speak with reality TV personality Spencer Pratt, now waging an insurgent campaign for Los Angeles mayor in the June 2 election.

Mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt, left, poses with a supporter during a community meet-and-greet event Saturday at a home on Longridge Avenue in a residential neighborhood of Sherman Oaks.

(Etienne Laurent/For The Times)

Standing in the entry to the home’s two-car garage, the onetime star of “The Hills” spent more than two hours shaking hands, giving hugs and posing for photos with his admirers, who waited in line under punishing San Fernando Valley sunshine.

Pratt used social media to invite the public to the campaign event, which took place in the district represented by one of his mayoral opponents, City Councilmember Nithya Raman.

He did not deliver any speeches outside the property, which is listed for rent on Zillow for $15,950 per month. He and a member of his security personnel said he was not taking interviews.

Pratt has been running in voter surveys behind Mayor Karen Bass, who is running for reelection, sometimes swapping places with Raman for second and third. He turned in a strong debate performance this month and has been outpacing his rivals in fundraising, according to the most recent disclosure reports.

While running for office, Pratt has blamed Bass for the 2025 wildfire that destroyed much of Pacific Palisades, including his home. He has railed against the city’s handling of homelessness, saying he would pursue a “treatment first” approach toward people with drug addiction who are living on the street.

Mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt, back to the camera, speaks with supporters Saturday during a community meet-and-greet event.

(Etienne Laurent/For The Times)

Pratt said recently that he wants to increase Los Angeles Police Department staffing to 12,500 officers over the next decade, up from about 8,600. Speaking with one supporter on Saturday, he said the city needs to “make sure all the laws are being enforced.”

“Plenty of functioning cities enforce their laws,” he said.

That message resonated with many of the people in line.

“He is advocating for the safety and security of our families — specifically, for mothers to be able to walk their kids to school,” said Saba Lahar, a resident of Sherman Oaks, moments after talking to the candidate.

Pratt fans dropped off ballots, picked up lawn signs and stopped to pick up coffee drinks from the Hustle N Dough doughnut truck parked out front.

Some showed up even though they cannot cast ballots in L.A.

Ruben Jr., no last name given takes a picture of his father during mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt’s community meet-and-greet Saturday in Sherman Oaks.

(Etienne Laurent/For The Times)

Brian Rodda, who runs a walking food tour company, described himself as “an unsatisfied Angeleno” even though he lives in West Hollywood, which is not part of the city of L.A.

“Sadly, because I do live in West Hollywood, I cannot vote for him,” he said. “But I certainly think we need a change.”

PAIR a foodie city break in Canada’s Toronto with vineyards and lakeside luxury in Prince Edward County, says Deputy Picture Editor Antoinette Cumberbatch.

Cocooned in a blanket, I gaze at the yellow hue above the horizon and the colours sweeping across the sky, as the sun sets gloriously over the vast expanse of Lake Ontario.

From my deckchair, all I can hear are the rhythmic sounds of water hitting the pebbled shore as I sip a glass of crisp rosé. This is perfection.  

Feeling vine 

I’m exploring Canada’s Prince Edward County, a 21/2-hour drive east from Toronto, and the eclectic Drake Devonshire in the quaint town of Wellington makes for the perfect base, with its beach-house feel, glass-fronted outdoor sauna and this idyllic lakeside setting.

Airy bedrooms with quirky artwork, plus a ping-pong table and photobooth downstairs complete the vibe.

Double rooms cost from £164 per night (Thedrake.ca/drakedevonshire).  

ISLE HAVE SOME

I visited the new Caribbean private island only open to cruise passengers

JET SET

I’ve flown to 83 places from my local airport – including 3 countries in one day

“The County”, as it’s called by Torontonians, is fast becoming known for its wineries, too.

Less than 10 minutes’ drive from my pad is Huff Estates, where the team has been perfecting its wines since 2002.

I sample a few silky blends – my fave is the Vines Unoaked Chardonnay – and learn how the region’s limestone-rich soil and cooler climate produces a unique blend. Tastings cost from £12 per person (Huffestates.com).  

Meanwhile, it’s a family affair at TerraCello Winery.

The seven-acre vineyard with Italian heritage is small compared to the others, but it makes exquisite riesling – tastings cost £11 per person – as well as delicious pizza, £10 (Terracellowinery.com).

For fans of elegant pinot noir, Closson Chase is also worth a stop, just a few minutes down the road (Clossonchase.com). 

Top of the crops 

Later that evening, I join a farm-to-table experience that’s as hands-on as it gets, with husband and wife team Luhana and Zach at Littlejohn Farm.

Cooking together in a small group, I’m tasked with rolling and filling fresh pasta for the cheese agnolotti – a skill I vow to continue back home.

But the star of the show has to be tender, home-raised lamb, which is the best I’ve ever tasted. Experiences cost from £122 per person (Littlejohnfarm.com).

I end my night at The Duchess, an elegant art-deco bar just a stroll from my hotel, with a Stay Curious cocktail – a heady blend of brandy, pineapple rum, coconut Campari, bergamot, lime and cucumber, £12 (Barduchess.com).  

Another gem is Base 31, 20 minutes’ drive away. Once a former WW2 airbase, it’s now a creative cultural hub with street food and live gigs.

I wander around the former barracks and gaze up at the restored Lancaster Bomber, before reading poignant love letters from a serviceman to his wife in its Love Notes exhibition. Entry costs £5 (Base31.ca). 

To the tower! 

The sister hotel of my lakeside stay, The Drake, puts me in the thick of Canada’s biggest city and Ontario’s capital, Toronto.

Set in one of the city’s coolest districts – Queen West – indie shops, cafes and restaurants line the pavements, alongside vibrant street art. Double rooms cost from £142 a night (Thedrake.ca/thedrakehotel). 

Of course, my first visit here wouldn’t be complete without whizzing to the top of the CN Tower.

Standing at 533m high, this former communication tower has been a staple of the skyline since 1976. Tickets to the highest platform cost £32 per person (Cntower.ca). 

But for me, Toronto is really about the food. I start at Lakeview diner, in the Dundas West neighbourhood.

You may not know the name, but it’s big-screen famous, having featured in blockbusters including Hairspray and Cocktail.

You can even sit in the booth where Tom Cruise sat, sipping its must-try apple-pie milkshake, £6.50.

Just being here feels like stepping into cinematic history, with autographs scrawled above the bar by actors who have filmed here (Thelakeviewrestaurant.ca).  

Elsewhere, St Lawrence Market, set up in 1814, proves perfect for a crash course in Canadian flavours.

I can’t resist picking up a raspberry-shaped pastry filled with raspberry whipped cream, £2.45, from Future Bakery, and I try the legendary peameal bacon sandwich in its salty, buttery roll from Carousel Bakery, £4.50 (Stlawrencemarket.com).  

Maple matters 

Close to St Lawrence’s, the historic Distillery District oozes character with its industrial red-brick buildings and cobbled streets.

I grab a delicious signature maple latte, £3.25, at Balzac’s (Balzacs.com), before heading to Mexican El Catrin Destileria for lunch.

Guacamole is crushed tableside for the nachos, £11.30, and I devour the fish tacos, £15.50, in seconds.

With tequila flavours including hibiscus and lime, tamarind and pineapple, I opt for a flight of mini margaritas to remove any decision-making, £27 for four (Elcatrin.ca). 

Craving some retail therapy, the next day I head to Ossington Avenue, a 10-minute stroll from The Drake.

Here, I find LoversLand, a stylish concept store selling cute trinkets and excellent socks (Loversland.com), retro fashion heaven Uncle Studios (Unclexstudios.com), and Rotate This, a record shop stacked with nostalgic vinyl (Rotatethis.com). 

The final evening of my trip comes around all too soon, and to mark the occasion I book a table at the achingly-cool Prime Seafood Palace, which is high-end – the chef’s menu will set you back £133 – but without any of the pretentiousness.

The tuna tartare and prime rib are flawless, but it’s the key-lime pie and maple tart that really steal the show for me (Primeseafood palace.ca).  

It makes for a pairing as perfect as Canada’s unofficial capital and the rural haven of Prince Edward County. 

Good morning, and welcome to L.A. on the Record — our City Hall newsletter. It’s David Zahniser, with an assist from Connor Sheets and Sandra McDonald, giving you the latest on city and county government.

We’ve reached the point in L.A.’s city election season where a juicy piece of news is popping off every day.

With a little over two weeks until the June 2 election, the campaigns’ remarks are getting more scathing, the spending more expensive and the scramble by supporters to get their chosen candidates into the top two more intense.

Like everyone else, we’re struggling to keep track of it all. In the meantime, here are a few of the more unusual moments from the past week:

The police union targets fifth-place candidate Rae Huang

You’ve probably heard about the digital attack ads put out by the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor warning voters that reality TV personality Spencer Pratt is “the LAST thing Los Angeles needs.”

Savvy political players said it wasn’t an attack ad at all, but rather a thinly veiled bid by the County Fed, a group that supports Mayor Karen Bass, to boost Pratt’s chances of making the Nov. 3 runoff election. Those observers say the mayor and her allies would rather run against Pratt, a Republican in a heavily Democratic city, than Raman during the campaign’s second round.

Now, another ad is up. But this time it’s from the Los Angeles Police Protective League, another union that is backing Bass’ reelection.

The league reported Wednesday that it’s spending about $100,000 on digital ads against mayoral candiate Rae Huang, who has been polling in the single digits.

Like the County Fed ad focused on Pratt, it’s not so much a lacerating attack as it is a list of the candidate’s beliefs.

“She supports the anti-business Green New Deal to increase taxes on corporations to provide free public transportation,” the digital ad says.

Once again, political sophisticates see a ruse, saying the police union is trying to lift Huang’s profile among voters, helping her pull support away from one of Bass’ top rivals, Councilmember Nithya Raman. Such a scheme, if successful, would ensure that Pratt ends up in the top two.

Asked about its new ad, league spokesperson Tom Saggau said the union is alerting voters that Huang “hates cops, corporations and real estate developers and voters should be aware.”

“It’s extremely important for voters to know about Rae Huang’s reckless plans to dismantle the police department and blow the city budget with free public transportation and other giveaways,” he said.

Huang said on social media that the police union is going after her because “they know change is possible.” At the same time, she acknowledged the ads were somewhat flattering.

“I think LAPD’s a little scared of me because they just spent over $100,000 in attack ads against me,” she said in a campaign video. “But they’re making me look good, so … thank you!”

Rob Quan, who is part of the advocacy group Unrig LA, replied to Huang at one point on X.

“They aren’t trying to stop you they are trying to boost you,” he wrote.

Raman backers really want Huang to drop out

With the primary campaign nearly over, impatient Raman supporters have been taking matters into their own hands, calling on Huang to drop out and ensure that Bass faces an opponent to her left.

Evan Goodrich, a Raman voter who lives in Echo Park, said he wants Raman in the top two. Voters shouldn’t squander their chance at getting a progressive mayor and creating change at City Hall, he told The Times.

Goodrich, 31, was more blunt on social media.

“Your campaign is broke, you have a snowball’s chance in hell of winning, and you’re costing us the most progressive viable candidate we have. It’s time to drop out!!!” he wrote, in a response to a Huang post.

Huang, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, said she’s not going anywhere.

During a Q-and-A posted on Reddit, she pushed back at the idea that her campaign is splintering the progressive vote, arguing that she views Raman as “neoliberal,” not progressive.

Raman has shifted her positions on police hiring, anti-encampment laws and Measure ULA, the tax on high-end real estate sales, Huang’s campaign said.

“I would not consider Nithya to be a progressive candidate, full stop. I do see her as being continuing to be a part of the establishment,” Huang said.

Huang did acknowledge that she sees Raman as being to the left of Bass.

Raman accuses Bass of ‘pay-to-play’ politics

As she battles to get into the top two, Raman launched a broadside against Bass this week, accusing her of engaging in multiple “pay-to-play” deals.

In a burst of social media posts, she accused Bass of negotiating “a sweetheart LAPD Union contract that bankrupted the city and a convention center expansion that will cost us over $4 billion after debt payments.” Special interests that supported those deals are now reciprocating, Raman said, by campaigning for the mayor.

Raman offered what she said is a fresh example of pay-to-play politics: the mayor’s push to allow owners of second homes to rent those places out on Airbnb or other short-term platforms, a practice currently prohibited by city law.

The Central City Assn., which supports the move, announced plans this week to spend $1 million on a campaign supporting Bass. A large part of its funding is coming from Airbnb, which also favors the idea. The downtown-based business group also supported Bass on the Convention Center.

“This is what pay-to-play politics looks like,” Raman said.

Bass has been defending her policy moves, saying the police raises were needed to keep officers from taking more lucrative jobs in other cities. The Convention Center expansion will boost tourism and a struggling downtown, Bass said.

The mayor also reiterated her support for the vacation rental policy, saying it would only be temporary, generating additional taxes for the city while ensuring more beds are available for the 2028 Olympic Games.

Bass campaign spokesperson Alex Stack called the allegations “another conspiracy theory from a failing candidate who is grasping at straws after her debate disasters and polling showing she won’t make the runoff.”

“The City should absolutely be exploring every way to maximize the economic benefit from the Olympics and to generate revenues paid by visitors, not Angelenos,” he said in a statement.

Nella McOsker, who heads the CCA, struck a similar note, praising Bass for supporting pro-business policies and calling Raman’s assertions “ridiculous.”

Wait, there’s a sheriff’s race?

If the mayor’s race has been blowing up, the contest for Los Angeles County Sheriff has been downright sleepy.

Sheriff Robert Luna, now seeking a second 4-year term, holds a substantial financial edge over the rest of the field, according to the most recent batch of fundraising reports.

In mid-April, Luna had more than $738,000 cash on hand, compared to about $114,000 for former Sheriff Alex Villanueva, who is attempting a comeback. Each of the other challengers had less than $50,000, spending reports show.

Sheriff’s Capt. Mike Bornman, one of the eight candidates running to unseat Luna, said the campaign had a single candidate forum in Compton, and that neither Luna nor Villanueva took part.

State of play

— BERN NOTICE: U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders announced Friday he is endorsing a handful of council candidates: Eunisses Hernandez on the Eastside, Hugo Soto–Martínez in Hollywood, Faizah Malik on the Westside and Estuardo Mazariegos in South L.A. Sanders is also backing Deputy Atty. Gen. Marissa Roy in her bid for city attorney.

— HITTING THE MOTHERLODE: You can’t put a price on a mother’s love. Or can you? The independent expenditure committee working to elect city controller candidate Zach Sokoloff, bankrolled by his mother Sheryl Sokoloff, continued its campaign spending spree this week, reporting it had paid out nearly $4.8 million by Thursday. The latest tranche of money went toward attack ads against City Controller Kenneth Mejia.

— WAGE WARS: The City Council took the first step Wednesday toward scaling back a planned $30 hourly minimum wage for hotel and airport workers, in the hope of persuading business leaders to drop a planned ballot measure to repeal the city’s business tax. Under the plan, the hourly wage would reach $30 in 2030, instead of summer 2028. The move is not final and more deliberations are planned next week.

— OLYMPIC ANGST: State lawmakers pressed organizers of the 2028 Olympic Games about the effort to secure federal funding, pointing to Trump’s animosity toward California. Joey Freeman, vice president of state affairs for the LA28 Organizing Committee, assured legislators that his committee has a “wonderful working relationship” with the Trump administration. L.A. is on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars if the games lose serious money.

— POLL POSITION: A new voter survey showed Bass continuing to lead the pack of candidates in the mayor’s race, with Pratt in second and Raman third. Paul Mitchell, vice president of voter data firm Political Data Inc., questioned the poll’s accuracy, saying it oversampled Latinos and undersampled people over 50.

— DUMPING THE DEBATE: The FOX11 mayoral debate that had been planned for this week was canceled after Bass and Raman pulled out. Pratt had already declined to attend the event.

— TARGETING TAXES: L.A. County voters historically have been generous about sales tax hikes, signing off on increases to pay for public transit and homeless servcies. But with the public reeling from soaring gas prices and other rising costs, some are wondering if they will get behind Measure ER, a half-cent sales tax hike to pay for healthcare programs.

— DIGITAL FIRST: TV ads used to dominate in L.A. mayoral campaigns. But this year, candidates have been relying heavily on social media, posting snappy, off-the-cuff videos in the hope of going viral.

— REALITY, STARS: Songwriter/producer David Foster and his wife Katharine McPhee held a star-studded fundraiser for Pratt at their home, one that featured McPhee singing a parodied version of Tina Turner’s “The Best,” according to a video posted on X. Pratt has been scooping up donations from a number of Hollywood players, including Universal Music Group chief executive Lucian Grainge and Sandra Rebish, also known as TLC’s Dr. Pimple Popper.

QUICK HITS

• Where is Inside Safe? The mayor’s signature program to combat homelessness went to Boyle Heights this week, tackling encampments at Hollenbeck Park and at the entry to the Sixth Street Bridge. The area is represented by Councilmember Ysabel Jurado.
• On the docket next week: The council meets Tuesday to take another stab at renegotiating the terms of the $30-per-hour wage hike for airport and hotel workers.

Stay in touch

That’s it for this week! Send your questions, comments and gossip to LAontheRecord@latimes.com. Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Saturday morning.

When I wrote last week about one of my favorite mountain ranges — L.A.‘s sidewalks — I immediately began fielding questions.

People wanted to know about the scoring system that awarded just 15 points, out of 45, to John Coanda and his wife, Barbara, who uses a wheelchair because of ALS. The Mar Vista couple had applied to the city’s Safe Sidewalks program to have some busted-up sidewalk in front of their home repaired.

With several sidewalk hazards on both sides of their block, Barbara can’t safely make it down her street. So how is it possible that under L.A.’s “Sidewalk Repair Program Prioritization and Scoring System,” their meager 15 points means they could be waiting “in excess of 10 years” for help?

I have the answers.

The Coandas got 15 points for being in a residential zone. But they didn’t meet the requirements for getting two additional awards of 15 points. They do not live within 500 feet of a bus or transit stop. And they had not been in the sidewalk repair backlog queue for more than 120 days.

It is not clear, however, that moving up to a score of 30 will bring out city work crews in less than 10 years. Knowing what I know, I wouldn’t bet on it.

The scoring system exists because in a lawsuit settlement 10 years ago, the city agreed to spend $1.4 billion over 30 years to repair damaged sidewalks and other infrastructure failures that impede the mobility of people with disabilities.

But there’s a backlog. A huge backlog, in the thousands. At my request, the city disclosed on Friday that it’s receiving about twice as many new disability-access repair requests each year as it’s addressing. In addition, the backlog for disability access requests and from residents applying for a sidewalk repair rebate program stands at roughly 30,000, with about 600 repairs being made each year.

As I said in a previous column, L.A. might indeed be all buttoned up by the ‘28 Olympics, but that would be 3028, not 2028.

Cracked sidewalks, to be clear, are but a symptom of a deeper, decades-long breakdown at City Hall. Basic services have been sacrificed to pay for employee compensation and pension costs the city can’t afford, with homeless services adding to the budget crisis.

By the way, I heard from one reader in response to my suggestion last week that if you can’t wait 10 years or more for the city to fix a broken sidewalk, you can apply to the rebate program, which will cover a portion of repairs. Don’t bother, said Lori Lerner Gray, who owns a house in Silver Lake and applied two years ago, but finally gave up.

“There is a massive waiting list and it’s a very complicated procedure just to try to get on it, let alone speak with anyone to help,” Gray said. “Once you finally get into the program, it’s impossible to proceed because of permits, engineering reports and finally you are required to bring the entire area to ADA compliance on your own dime.”

She said she was told she’d have to pay to relocate a utility pole.

And sidewalks aren’t the only infrastructure problem, as other readers noted. The city is way behind on filling potholes, repaving streets, installing curb ramps, making park improvements and replacing broken lights. I recently wrote about all the blight around City Hall, including the graffiti-tagged monument and fountain that has been inoperable for most of the last 60 years.

Oren Hadar, a Mid-City resident who writes about housing and transportation on his The Future Is L.A. website, reported last year in a Times op-ed that city streets were falling apart because the city had switched from repaving entire roads to doing what it called “large asphalt repair.”

With the switch, the city avoided federal requirements to upgrade curb ramps on repaved streets, Hadar said. He told me that when he travels to other cities near or far, “I’m always jealous of everything. Sidewalks are in better shape or there are better bike lanes. … You could go to even Santa Monica or Culver City. You don’t have to go far to see infrastructure that’s better.”

Other major cities have had formal infrastructure plans for years, while L.A. has ducked and dithered. Finally, earlier this month, Mayor Karen Bass introduced the city’s long-awaited CIP (capital infrastructure program), and offered a brutal assessment of what went wrong.

“For too long,” she said in the executive summary, “information has been scattered across departments, buried in lengthy reports and budgets, and difficult to fully understand. These challenges have had real consequences, contributing to decades of underinvestment in our built environment.”

The summary reads like an indictment of City Hall leadership and the manner in which public spaces have deteriorated. With Bass running for reelection, voters have to decide whether her role in those failures is grounds for dismissal, or her campaign-season pitch for a new day should help earn her a second term.

The report, with backing by members of the City Council, cited “fragmented systems and data silos,” “no shared vision across city departments,” “growing maintenance deferrals,” “slow, inefficient capital planning,” no “project intake standards,” “highly decentralized and uncoordinated grants,” “resource planning and staffing misalignment,” and “opaque capital planning process.”

Way to go, team.

You could take many of those same critiques and apply them to the haphazard way in which city and county leaders have addressed homelessness.

However, the city’s infrastructure plan does offer a framework for assessing the damage and prioritizing projects, and using charter reform to create a public works director position with greater authority. None of this will happen quickly, and given the budget crunch, you might be wondering how any of this would be paid for.

The suggestions in the report include bonds, a parcel tax, grants, fees on tickets to concerts and sporting events, fees on taxi and rideshare trips, and much, much more. None of this will be popular, especially if the public is unconvinced that city leaders can be trusted with more money.

Urban planner Deborah Murphy, chair of the city’s pedestrian advisory committee, noted that L.A. has gotten grants or state funding in the past for specific projects and then, because of staffing shortages or other stumbles, failed to hold up its end of the deal.

“It kind of ruins our reputation for getting future money,” Murphy said.

Jessica Meaney, executive director of Investing in Place and a longtime advocate for the infrastructure plan, is thrilled that the city has finally taken this step.

“But the key question is: who is actually in charge of making it happen?” she asked.

It’s critical, Meaney suggested, for city leaders to push for charter reform that puts infrastructure authority under a newly empowered public works director. If the city gets this right, she said, implementation of the infrastructure plan “could finally show Angelenos the true scale of deferred maintenance, make trade-offs visible, and create a road map for better sidewalks, streets, parks, and accessibility.”

If the current fragmented authority remains in place, Meaney said, the headline would be:

“No one is in charge of your sidewalk and City Hall is determined to keep it that way.”

steve.lopez@latimes.com